November 2003

Up for discussion: Learning in a diverse setting

	Rahim Reed of campus community relations (Debbie Aldridge/UC Davis)

The opportunity to interact with diverse people is a large part of what makes attending a university a life-altering experience.

California is one of the most diverse states in the nation, and UC Davis students reflect that fact. Your student is likely to encounter people with backgrounds and viewpoints completely unlike their own. Conflicts can arise from this situation, but there are learning opportunities to be gained from these interactions.

Learning through diversity

"The biggest thing that a student or a parent can do is to have an appreciation for the value added to education by diversity," says Rahim Reed, associate executive vice chancellor for campus community relations. "So often it's seen as an add-on. But to be successful in this new century, you have to understand the value of diversity."

Reed says parents can also help by encouraging their children to seek out, rather than shy away from, opportunities to interact with people they perceive as unlike themselves. This can help to raise their comfort level so that the next time a difficult situation arises, they will feel more confident about resolving the conflict, he says.

Reed stresses that UC Davis' concept of diversity is diversity in the broadest sense -- ethnicity, race, gender, religious affiliation, political persuasion, sexual orientation, family education level, income level and more.

Principles of Community

In 1990, UC Davis formalized its commitment to the value of diversity by adopting the Principles of Community, which outline expectations for mutual respect while acknowledging the educational merit of freedom of expression.

"UC Davis is a very special place to learn," Reed says, "because we think of ourselves as a community with a set of principles that we try to live up to."

Those principles are included in the informational packets students receive before they come to UC Davis, and they are printed in many university documents including the General Catalog and the Class Schedule and Registration Guide.

"We want people to know that this is a place where your ideas and beliefs will be challenged, but you will not be demonized for those beliefs," Reed says.

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